


The End and the Beginning

by glassdemons



Category: Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-18 17:21:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28995900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glassdemons/pseuds/glassdemons
Summary: Ralaisei, the Nerevarine, as he meets and parts with the would-be gods.
Relationships: Nerevarine/Vivec (Elder Scrolls)
Kudos: 8





	The End and the Beginning

**Author's Note:**

  * For [coolstarboy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/coolstarboy/gifts).



The first time Ralaisei met Vivec, he was covered in a fine layer of ash, no matter how he had tried to get himself cleaned up. He had practically limped up the temple steps, escorted by guards from the second he stepped onto the canton. He had struggled to regain his breath, but not his composure, as he glared up at the elf floating, suspended, above him.

“Greetings, so-called Nerevarine,” Vivec said, tilting their head ever so slightly as they gazed back down at Ralaisei, taking in the white-streaked hair and gold-blotted, scarred face. “I assume you are wondering why I brought you here.”

“What do you want?” he hissed, feeling much more like a prisoner than a guest. “My lord,” he added with a second thought.

Their head inclined. “When I was young like you, I was very impatient.” Ralaisei did not break their eye contact. Vivec smiled. “So I will keep our business short. First, I propose to remove my curse upon the Nerevarine, and end the persecution of the Dissident Priests, and proclaim all of Morrowind that Nerevarine is the Incarnate--”

“Wait, what?” Ralaisei’s jaw fell slack, and he stepped forward, confusion etched across his face. “You’ve been trying to--you’ve been killing people! And now--”

“Not killing, as a first choice.” Vivec’s smile suddenly seemed as cold as Ralaeisei had expected to find them. “But yes, I know when to stand corrected.” They waved a hand dismissively. “These things I will do, whether you wish or not. You, Nerevarine, are the prophesied savior of Morrowind, and the last hope to withstand the menace of Dagoth Ur and the Sixth House.”

“And you’ve been trying to kill me about it!” he protested. “You--you killed me!”

Vivec furrowed their brows, pleasant demeanor coming to a full halt. “You seem to be upset about that personally, rather than as a story told to you. You have not been in Vvardenfell long enough to have this ingrained in you. You believe you have remembered this.”

Ralaisei said nothing, clenching his jaw.

“Along with Lord Nerevar, and at his insistence, rather than at our own urges, Almalexia, Sotha Sil, and I swore before our god of oaths at the time, the Daedra Lord Azura, never to employ the tools of Kagrenac for any purpose.”

“I know the story,” he whispered, hardly audible.

Vivec leaned down to be on his level, still floating in the same position, as if tied to an invisible rope. “We broke our oaths. We turned our backs on the old gods. I still see no compelling reason to worship any of the Aedra or Daedra.” Ralaeisei felt himself agreeing, especially after all he had seen since he was taken out of the Imperial City. “But, with the respect I held for Nerevar, and the respect I held for myself, I should never have betrayed my oath. Of all my life's actions, I most regret that failure.” Vivec straightened up with a sigh, averting their gaze. “It was a mistake to believe that betraying you would come to anything but this. I apologize, Nerevar.”

“My name is Ralaisei.”

“My apologies, Ralaisei.”

Ralaisei remained silent for a moment longer, then forced a nod. “Yes. Thank you. Continue.”

“Next, I propose to surrender to you the power and responsibility of defeating Dagoth Ur.”

“Hold on!” Ralaisei interrupted, throwing up his arms.

Vivec merely held up a hand. “You may choose to refuse; I will not compel you. Hear me out.” 

Ralaisei took a deep breath to ready himself for however else Vivec could possibly ruin his day without having him publicly executed for treason. “Go on.”

“You will receive the power as a gift, in the form of an artifact called Wraithguard. You may accept this gift, and then do with it as you will. You will receive the responsibility as an oath. You may give your oath, then keep it or break it as you like. First, will you accept Wraithguard as a gift?”

“Depends on what kind of artifact,” he replied, shifting his weight uncomfortably. “I don’t deal with Daedra.”

Vivec chuckled. “Dwemer. It’s a sword.”

Ralaisei considered for a moment how much a living god’s ancient sword made by a deceased race could sell for if he needed to skip country. He decided it would certainly get him home. “Alright. I will accept.”

“And now, how about that oath to destroy Dagoth Ur?”

“I would like to know why you’re making this my full responsibility, first.” Vivec grimaced, rolling their eyes and looking to the ornate mosaic ceiling. “You can’t do anything to help me?”

“Allow me to say it like this.” Magic sparked from Vivec’s fingertips, causing Ralaisei to reach for his dagger, before realizing that they were forming a map. A picture of Red Mountain. “I have tried on numerous occasions to return to the Heart. I have failed. However, the people do not know this. The once fringe belief has become prominent: it is your turn to try. If you succeed, then I am wise for allowing you, and the other pieces of the Tribunal as well as myself will be able to say that we killed every Nerevarine before you because they were destined for failure.”

The image shifted, and Ralaisei nearly retched. Nerevar. Impaled on a spear, the spear he could clearly see mounted above Vivec, casting its shadow onto them both. “And if you fail, then I am wise for allowing the people to see what they needed to, so that they stop their blasphemies, and accept that the Nerevarine is not the hero that they so believe he is. If you give me your oath and then run away, you have proven every Nerevarine that follows you is nothing more than a coward when the time to fulfill their sacred duty is upon them. Every outcome is beneficial to me.”

“And what do you think is going to happen?” he choked out, trying to tear himself away from seeing his own self be killed.

The vision faded. Vivec leaned back, smiling once more, wide, but not quite showing teeth. “I think you will succeed, Nerevar. Or I would have killed you before it got this far.”

Ralaisei thought of every assassin he had fought off in the wee hours of the morning, or when he was travelling at night. The poison he caught in his drink. The barkeep eyeing him with fear when he dumped it out. It was hard to imagine that these attempts on his life were not genuine.

Which meant Vivec knew they were backed into a corner.

The ash storms had worsened just in his short time on Vvardenfell. He had seen the corprusarium, inside and out, how full it was, how helpless and miserable.

The nightmares of the god in the golden mask haunted him relentlessly.

Inhale. Exhale. “Alright,” he said. “You have my word.”

\---

The first time he met Almalexia, he had been ferried off to the mainland, days before the ash storms were predicted to clear enough to allow him one good assault on Red Mountain. The glowing lanterns leading into the palace were mesmerizing, to the point he hardly noticed the woman standing on the balcony. When he finally looked up, his heart skipped, then stopped, sinking.

“My wife,” he mouthed, though no sound came out as he was brought up the stairs and to her. The guards bowed, and departed with a gesture. He stood, awestruck, before her. He cleared his throat.

“You are Nerevar?” she asked, looking him over, almost unimpressed despite his scarring having turned almost entirely golden, giving him skin like hers.

He felt months of tension falling away as he looked at her. Everything he learned on the streets told him not to trust her, but every dream he could sneak between Ur’s nightmares was a memory of her. “I am the _Nerevarine,_ yes,” he breathed, trying to focus on what he had learned, not what he knew.

She smiled, though it was cordial, distant, detached. He felt a part of him break. “I see. Well, I have invited you to my palace to offer you my blessing.” She motioned for him to follow her inside, and so he did. She walked a few inches above the ground, not several feet off the way Vivec did, and actually walked, rather than simply hovered around. It was comforting. It was almost mortal of her, if a bit Telvanni inclined.

She brought him to a mantle, and nodded towards it. “This is Trueflame. It will be proof that you have my approval.” Ralaisei reached for it; she pushed his hand back down to his side. “But first, I must receive proof that my dear Vivec is not being fooled. I have a task for you.”

“They said that you would trust them at their word?” Ralaisei asked, unable to hide his confusion if he had even wanted to.

Almalexia laughed, though she sounded far more bitter than amused. “Perhaps at a time, I would have. I have been alive to witness their numerous mistakes over the millenia, and I am not one to endanger our positions here without ensuring that it’s a gamble worth taking.”

“You would splinter the temple?”

For a moment, he thought she was angry, but if she was, she covered it as fast as it came with her calm air. “I would challenge his judgement. That is something we can reconcile. You being Nerevar we cannot fix.”

“Nerevarine,” he corrected.

Her face scrunched up at that. “Sure. Unlike Vivec, I am not so naive as to believe that any ending of your story will be a happy ending for the three of us. As such, I have a task for you.” She caught on to Ralaisei’s nervous fidgeting, and continued, “The fact that you have only so much time to return to Vvardenfell should be a motivator for you. You gave Vivec your oath, yes?”

“I was unaware an oath meant so much to you,” he said, trying to sound pleasant despite the biting words, smiling innocently.

She returned the expression just as well. “I was unaware a thief could escape execution for insulting a queen.”

“Very well,” he said. “You have my oath, as well.”

\---

The first time he met Sotha Sil, it was not on even ground. Before he had accepted the invitation to a plane he was fundamentally at a disadvantage on, Vivec had grabbed his arm. Ralaesei had expected a warning, or something he could use to his advantage.

“Be gentle.”

He had pulled his arm back, almost offended, before stepping through the portal, alone. 

Standing at the edge of a balcony, the last of the three false gods stood, overlooking his creation. Ralaisei approached, bordering on nervous. Almalexia had proven intimidating, and she had merely shaped her world to see what she wanted, the same as any other politician, not pulling oblivion to her whims.

Sotha Sil turned, and he froze, cautious. The feeling of not belonging in Clockwork City was overwhelming. He wanted to shrink into the shadows, but the lighting didn’t permit any escape from the watchful silence, the too-loud hum of what should be mechanisms falling into ruins somewhere in the depths of Nirn.

“It is… enjoyable, to see you at last,” he finally said. “I imagine you know who I am.”

“You killed me,” Ralaisei whispered.

Sil’s polite smile faltered slightly, turning into a small grimace. “Yes, I did. That is not what I have brought you here to discuss, however.”

Fear washed over him like a tidal wave, against his better judgement. He felt himself sinking into a crouch, unable to stop the reflex.

The elf before him merely extended a hand. “Come. I would like for you to see this.”

Cautiously, Ralaisei crept forward, until he stood beside Sil, overlooking the City. The gears turned overhead, the sunset partially blocked by them, and below, the people that lived here hurried along about their business. Metal reflected off of some of the silhouettes. 

It was smaller than he had thought it was.

“By killing me, you will not affect what I have created.” His head snapped up to look at Sil, who was expressionless, staring out. “I have ensured that will not change the day-to-day function of my realm in the slightest. I request that you offer me a little more time, though this is a mercy I did not permit to you.”

“Hold on, what?” Ralaisei hissed. “I’m not killing anyone?” Sil tilted his head, but did not look away from the city. “I dislike you. Hate you, even. But I’m not helping the Empire anymore. I’m sick to death of being used!”

“And my death would help them…”

“Overthrow the temple? Unbalance your whole culture?” Ralaisei felt his fear subside into rage at the coward that would ignore everyone but his chosen few. “Hello? Have you not seen what’s going on outside? Do you only care about me because you think I’m a threat?”

Sotha Sil looked at him, and Ralaisei fell silent, realizing what he had said. _“Be gentle,”_ Vivec had said, ringing through his mind now as much more of a warning than a plea, eyes like fire, feeling watched from all sides--

“I was unaware you felt so strongly about preserving Morrowind. I am content with that.” 

“That’s not what I--”

Sil held up a metallic hand, and Ralaisei immediately began assessing how much it would sell for before he fully realized it was part of him. “I do not wish for it to be unchanged. I, like you, am displeased by the state of things. If you wish, you may stay here, though I know as I say this that you will not. My city is incomplete. It will not be enough for you, and has nothing to keep you here.”

Ralaisei shuddered, trying to shake off the feeling of his mind being pulled apart and looked at, of thousands of eyes watching him, worse than at Red Mountain. He spared a glance around. They were alone, save for the machines with functions he could not place whirring on.

“Will you return me to the temple?” he asked.

Sil sighed, his head falling for a moment, before he turned back to the city. Ralaisei wondered, for an instant, if he was a captive, and then, a portal roared to life behind him. He stepped towards it, hesitated, looked back at Sil. He had propped himself, arms spread, over the side of the balcony, looking down, down, down, as if watching something attentively. As if he was about to collapse.

“Hey, uh, sorry to run,” he called. Sil tilted his head again, though once more he did not turn to look at him. “This place just puts me on edge.”

“It has that effect on outsiders, yes.” There was a touch of humor in his voice, though mostly, it was thin, wobbly, like he would cry.

“Come visit us on Nirn? It’s not like Vivec doesn’t have a thousand bedrooms in the temple.”

A laugh, quiet, clipped, restrained. “Sure.”

He hesitated, waiting for something else. Sotha Sil remained still, and silent.

Ralaisei stepped through the portal.

\---

The last time Ralaisei saw Sotha Sil, he had been sent to reason with him, to find out what could be done to stop his tantrum, and found instead of the mournful god from the last time, a burned husk, metal jutting out, the flesh having fallen off into ash. He stumbled backwards, against the cold stone wall, as he realized this was indeed the same room attached to the balcony, and yes, that was the only person who was supposed to be in this tower. He looked around for daedra, falling into a crouch, and crept forward. The feeling of being watched was stronger than ever as he approached the corpse of what others called god, staring at the jumble of wires with wide eyes, shaking. He touched him. The wires swung back with the movement, and his head rolled forward. Metal was clasped to his jaws, his mouth open in what looked to be a scream.

He took a fearful breath, then turned, nearly jumping out of his skin and into the fabricated parts of Sil when he saw Almalexia standing in the doorway, blocking the only way down the tower.

He knew, with his stomach turning into a pool of acid, that this would be the last time he would see her, before she even spoke. 

“This is the end, Nerevar,” she said, summoning a sword into her hands.

“My name is Ralaisei,” he said, voice trembling, as he drew a dagger.

“You were to be my greatest martyr! The heroic Nerevar, sacrificing all to protect Morrowind from the mad Sotha Sil.” She stepped towards him, and he shrunk back, the metal of the cadaver cold against his exposed arms. “But you live!” she growled. “You live! Fear not. I will tell the tale myself when this is done. I will tell my people how with your dying breath you proclaimed your devotion to me, the one true god. You will die here, Nerevar.”

“My _name,”_ he said again, faking the confidence, “is _Ralaisei!”_

He had just barely survived his encounter with Dagoth Ur, having the advantage of Ur struggling to restrain his form and mind under the overbearing aura of the Heart of Lorkhan. Almalexia had the advantage.

Or did she? He remembered Vivec’s words before Red Mountain, why they would not help him. _“Our divinity is an empty well.”_

“He spoke not a word as he died.” She thrust his word to point behind Ralaisei. He didn’t fully turn to glance at what remained of Sil. “Not a whisper. Even in death, he mocked me with his silence! But I think you will scream, Nerevar. You did the last time.”

Ralaisei felt as though he was frozen to the floor with fear, with the sickening memory of her touching his face as he choked on his own blood, gasping for air through punctured lungs.

Almalexia charged.

\---

A vision of Azura appeared before Ralaisei as he gagged and retched, panting, on the stone floor. She reached out and touched his head, and he stilled, pardoning the involuntary shaking. The bodies of two of the Tribunal lay in the room with him, blood and ash everywhere. He turned watery eyes up to Azura, suppressing a cough. 

“You have done well, Nerevarine.”

“Ralaisei,” he wheezed.

“You know now what you must do. Only one remains. Have faith.”

She disappeared. Ralaisei collapsed onto the stones once more.

\---

It was a fine, clear evening, with clean air, when Ralaisei packed his final bag. The windows were open, stained glass tilted just so to let in the breeze. The silt strider would be ready by dusk, but it was always best to get a head start to any meeting, as he had learned from following the winding roads of Vvardenfell. Vivec City may seem different, but, better late than sorry.

When he looked up, Vivec was standing in the doorway, slumped against the frame in a pout, arms crossed.

“You really shouldn’t make that face,” Ralaisei chided. “It’ll freeze like that.”

“You’re really leaving?” Vivec said, rather than offering a defense for themself.

“I’ve told you every day that I need out of this temple. I don’t know why you’re acting surprised.”

Vivec sighed, casting their gaze to the ground. Ralaisei snapped the bag shut and took a look around the room. It looked as full as it did when Vivec first offered it to him, a small gesture of gratitude. It wouldn’t do for a saint to not afford rent outside of the Foreign Quarter, after all.

“I appreciate your hospitality,” he said cordially, as though the time spent in exile on this island had only been a vacation, backpacking across the ashlands.

“There’s nothing I can do to convince you?”

“Nothing. Absolutely not. I’ve had enough. You’ve gotten all you can get out of me.” He pushed white hair out of his face for emphasis, watching Vivec look at how his corprus-afflicted skin had healed golden.

“As you wish, Ralaisei.” Vivec straightened up, making as though he were to leave. “I’ll grab my things.”

“What?” he asked, eyebrows furrowed. “I told you, no parting gifts.”

“They’re not for you!” Vivec snapped. “If we’re going off to who knows where, I would like to have something of my own with me. Nothing that would call my past to mind, don’t worry. Just something familiar so I don’t freeze to death wherever you’re taking us.”

 _“Us?”_ he echoed.

“You had thought that I was going to allow you leave without me?”

Ralaisei stared at them, jaw slack, for a moment, then another, trying to figure out what angle they were playing at. Vivec stared back, calm and composed as ever, determination radiating off of them.

“You’re serious, aren’t you?” A laugh crept into Ralaisei’s voice. “And what of Morrowind? Of Vvardenfell, of this city?”

“You have proven quite sufficiently that they don’t need me,” they replied. 

“Yes, I suppose I have.”

“Then it’s settled. I’ll grab my things.”

They stepped into the hall, but Ralaisei pushed past them, blocking their way. “And what am I to do with what was once a god sitting in the same silt strider as I am? You think we’re going to get any peace? You don’t exactly look like your average dunmer!”

Vivec smiled, and their skin turned solid ash. “I am quite skilled in glamours, you see.”

“And what am I to call you?” he pressed. “What am I supposed to say when people ask who you are to come with me?”

“You may simply call me Vehk.”


End file.
